Beautiful "Eastern Highland" - A recommended 2-day, 1-night trip to see the greenery and flowers

Ai Nishimura

Administrator of the blog "My Diary," which began in 2004. A writer who has traveled to all 47 prefectures and loves local culture and history.
Author of Shimane's "Geography, Place Names, and Maps" Mysteries (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha), My Town is the "Number One in Japan" Dictionary (PHP Institute), and Prefectures Explained in Neko Neko Japanese History (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha). Official blogger for Suntory Gourmet Guide, official top user for Retty, and official platinum blogger for Excite.

9:00 Head to Aki via Noichi Station. The Aki Station Jiba-san Market in front of the station is full of local specialties.

To go from Kochi Ryoma Airport to the eastern direction, you can use the "Airport Shared Taxi" to avoid going through Kochi City. The airport shared bus operates according to the arrival time of the plane and will take you to "Noichi Station" on the Tosa Kuroshio Railway Gomen-Nahari Line.

The Tosa Kuroshio Railway Gomen-Nahari Line (Go-Na Line) runs along the coast and allows you to see the blue sea from the train window, making it an inspiring journey. I rode the Go-Na Line many times on this trip.

When you arrive in Aki City, the first thing to do is go shopping at Aki Station Jiba-san Market, a direct-from-producer market connected directly to the station.
There were many yuzu-related products on display, especially the freshly squeezed yuzu products known as "yunosu (vinegar)." This does not refer to vinegar, which is a fermented food, but rather to the juice squeezed from the yuzu. It is used as a seasoning, added to vinegared rice, or to add a sour taste to dishes, enhancing the yuzu aroma, and is said to be an essential part of the food culture unique to this area.

They also have freshly baked bread and pastries, sake and local delicacies, so you can stop by while looking for souvenirs or waiting at the station. They open from 7am and have a wide selection of fresh produce and side dishes, so locals come to shop.
I had a glass of yuzu juice, which I made easy to drink by adding honey. The rich yuzu flavor turned on my "Kochi travel switch."

10:30 Visit the Nora Clock and Yataro Iwasaki's birthplace. Rent a free bicycle to explore Aki City.

At Aki Station Jibasan Market, you can also rent bicycles for free. I rented one and immediately set off for a walk around Aki City. First, I set out for the "Nora Clock," a nationally registered tangible cultural property.

Around 1887, when clocks were rare and difficult to obtain, Genma Hatanaka, a landowner, ordered a clock and learned how it worked by repeatedly disassembling and reassembling it, eventually creating a large clock. At the time, no one owned a clock, so the clock was used to tell the time to people working in the fields.

The sight of the octagonal clock tower standing among the fields must have been a source of pride for the town's residents at the time, and it remains a symbol of Aki even today.

Our next destination was Doikachu.
Doi Kurukawa refers to the old streetscape of this entire area. We walked around the only samurai residence open to the public, the Nomura Family Residence, and its surroundings. As we turned a corner, a charming hedge suddenly caught our eye. This is a thin bamboo called doyo bamboo, which was only planted in samurai houses. We also saw a wall made of tiles, called a kawara bei.

Although it was built around 1830 during the Tenpo era, it has been well preserved and is a valuable building that preserves to the present day the space where the samurai of the past lived.

A short distance from the station is the birthplace of Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of the Mitsubishi zaibatsu. Seven buildings on the premises are designated as national tangible cultural properties.

Yataro Iwasaki was born in Aki in 1835 (Tenpo 5).
The Iwasaki family is said to be descendants of the Kai Genji and Takeda clans. During the Edo period, he became a local samurai but later sold his qualifications and became an underground ronin. Showing talent from an early age, Yataro traveled to Edo to study, was entrusted with work for the feudal domain and engaged in trade in Nagasaki. With his rare business acumen and drive, he pursued the path of the shipping industry, and became known as "the foremost maritime king of the Orient." Though born into a poor family, he mastered his studies and had a thirst for learning, and was flexible in adopting what he could learn from anyone he met, pushing himself to success, and in just one generation he greatly developed the Mitsubishi Group during a turbulent time.

On the way back to the station, we saw several old mansions and were also able to see "mizukiri kawara" (small tiles attached to plaster walls), a feature of this area.

12:00 Aki Whole Bowl from Kitchen Coco, featuring the specialty whitebait

If you come to Aki, you should try the "Shirasu Donburi."
Restaurants make the most of the flavor of shirasu (chirimen) by serving up creative and inventive rice bowls, making it a local gourmet specialty of Aki.

For lunch that day, I chose the popular "Aki Marugoto Donburi" from the hidden gem "Kitchen Coco." It's located in the basement of Aki City Hall, just a few minutes from Aki Station.

The Aki Marugoto Donburi is a luxurious bowl of rice that includes all the specialties of the Aki area. It is topped with eggplant from Kochi, which boasts the highest production in Japan, Tosa Jiro chicken from Kochi, and plenty of whitebait. In addition to condiments such as myoga and green onions, the secret ingredient of yuzu pepper also adds a nice touch, and I ate it all in one go!

It is also possible to have it as a set with small side dishes, and in this case it comes with miso soup.
We left Aki with our stomachs and hearts completely filled after a very satisfying lunch that lived up to its name, "Aki Marugoto."

14:00 Head to the green tunnel covered with ferns, "Iokido"

Located in Aki City, Ioki Station is the station next to Aki Station on the Gona Line.
We headed to the cave "Iokido", which is just a few minutes walk from the station. First, we went to the meeting place.
When you get off at the station, it feels like a quiet residential area, and it's hard to imagine that there is a cave here.
Iokido was located just across the road from the meeting place.

This area was under the sea until 120,000 to 30,000 years ago. It is thought that the strata that were deposited on the ocean floor about 3 million years ago were repeatedly raised, emerging on land and taking on its current shape 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. It is a place where you can still feel the endless passage of time.

Ioki Cave is made up of stratum mainly composed of sandstone mixed with mud, and is a "sea cave" that has been carved by the ocean waves over a long period of time. Usually, once eroded to a certain point, a cave ends, and once made of stratum of soft sandstone and limestone overlap, it has been carved by the ocean waves over a long period of time to become a "sea cave". Usually, once eroded to a certain point, a sea cave ends, but Ioki Cave is unique in that it has a stream that runs through it.

Once you leave the cave, you'll be greeted by dense ferns growing along the towering valley. The view of various types of ferns spreading their dark green leaves spreads before your eyes, preserving a precious ecosystem that has been designated a national natural monument. Iokido Cave is a spot with many faces, including a cave where ancient strata can be seen, a colony of ferns that is a national natural monument, and even a stream walk.

On this day, the entire cave had turned into a river due to the rain the day before, but it was truly an adventure to wade through the water in our boots and carefully make our way so as not to drop our camera. We applied for a guide from the Aki City Tourist Association and toured the area with a detailed explanation.

This cave activity will give you a sense of the grandeur of its scale. It's a popular tourist destination in the Eastern Kochi area, so why not include it in your travel plans?

17:00 Beautiful riverside hot springs for beautiful skin. Kitagawa Village Hot Springs "Yuzu no Yado"

From Nahari Station, the terminus of the Go-Na Line, transfer to the Kitagawa Village Municipal Bus and head to Kitagawa Village.
Village buses are local routes used by locals. Inside the bus, you can hear friendly, warm conversations. There are few services, so it's best to check the operating times in advance when using the bus.

It takes about 45 minutes from Nahari bus stop to Kojima bus stop, and the road gradually goes deeper into the mountains. When I got off the bus, I was greeted by the Nahari River, the Kojima Bridge (an important cultural property), and the tranquil scenery of spreading fields.

All 14 rooms at Yuzu no Yado have a view of the Nahari River. Three of the rooms have private baths. The shared space has a warm atmosphere with flooring and wood, and the spaciousness makes it very relaxing.

The large communal bath has an indoor bath and an open-air bath. There is also a private bath, so you can enjoy the hot spring to the fullest. The water was extremely viscous, and I could definitely feel the difference in my skin the next morning. This inn had it all: facilities, food, and hot water, so I was able to relax for a night.

This is a beautiful rural town where buckwheat flowers bloom in the spring and yuzu fruits hang in abundance from autumn to winter. During my morning walk, many local people greeted me and I had a wonderful time filled with kindness.